For most home users, buying a regular router turns into a torment, because there are so many different models on the market that, in addition to extensive functionality, also have a rather strange run-up in cost. In order to somehow help a potential buyer, a well-known manufacturer of network equipment decided on a desperate step, presenting for all to see the budget TP LINK 741 router with a set of popular features.
The approach to the buyer is unchanged
No matter what competitors, experts or ordinary users say about TP LINK network equipment, the manufacturer always adheres to its own rules and never backs down from them. We are, of course, talking about the packaging of the product and its configuration. The standard green box, a set of necessary components for organizing wireless communication in the room and detailed operating instructions are the manufacturer's passport to the world market.
The TP LINK 741 router in addition is equipped with software disks and a large set of advertising booklets in which you can learn in detail about all products manufactured under the brand of the manufacturer. There is nothing to complain about, therefore, for packaging and equipment, you can safely give the manufacturer an excellent rating.
Build quality
The future owner should not rely on the fact that the Chinese manufacturer in the cheap segment (up to 2,000 rubles) will provide him with a decent product, which is assembled at the factory with high quality and without flaws. In fact, the TP LINK 741 WiFi router is more like a plastic toy that is hastily assembled. The white plastic case has many flaws:
- bumps are visible at the joints;
- connectors and integrated panels are not centered;
- the power button has a slight skew.
On the other hand, you canāt demand much from the manufacturer in the budget segment, because this product is still equipped with rich functionality and provides a lot of popular settings to the user. But still, the quality of the assembly can never be forgotten, because it is always a business card of the manufacturer.
Communications, interfaces and equipment
Many buyers who have looked at the TP LINK 741 ND router on the market believe that one of the important factors that you should pay attention to before purchasing is the ability to disconnect the antenna. Experts assure that this indicator is not important, it is better to pay attention to interfaces and the ability to connect additional equipment.
Itās better to start with the fact that the router is equipped with a full-fledged network hub, which allows the owner to connect up to 4 personal computers to the Internet via a wired connection. There is a color marking of ports on the deviceās case, so itās impossible to mix up interfaces when connected.
If we talk about the shortcomings, the owners, judging by their reviews, do not like the lack of a USB port in the router - the 21st century is in the yard, and a controller with a microcircuit is not so expensive. The purpose of the deviceās power button is also unclear, because most users install the router on a cabinet and forget about its existence.
The right approach to the end user
Configuring the TP LINK 741 router is possible by a regular user who does not even understand network equipment. And this is really the advantage of the router. To connect, you just need to connect the cables correctly (as described in the user manual) - and you can immediately begin to configure.
It is worth noting that the manufacturer was worried about the convenience of authorizing a user who wants to fine-tune network equipment. On the bottom of the router there is a special sticker on which the deviceās network address, login and password to enter the control panel are indicated. Everything is made for people.
First steps
And before proceeding directly to setting up the router, the device will prompt the user to update the software for correct operation. No, the TP LINK 741 router does not need a driver at all, we are only talking about flashing the hardware of the network equipment. Everything is simple here - the user goes to the official website of the manufacturer, finds his router in the list of products and downloads fresh software to his computer.
After that, you need to open the operating instructions and find the item "Firmware Update". Following the manufacturer's recommendations, the user just needs to install the previously downloaded software. And before you start working with the control panel, you should make sure that you have the input information that the Internet service provider always provides for setting up the router.
Evil master
Many users have already had to deal with the software assistant built into the equipment, which offers its services for setting up the equipment. The Chinese manufacturer also decided to ease the task by equipping his product TP LINK 741 with a similar software solution. Setting up with an assistant is interesting only when the Internet is provided over a dedicated line without additional parameters. In such cases, you just need to connect the cable, click the "Next" button several times, specify the name of the wireless network and set a password for it.
But for users who want to perform a full setup of equipment, it is better to immediately refuse the services of an automatic program and, picking up instructions, begin to study all the parameters of network equipment. In their reviews, many owners assure potential buyers that it is easy to configure the router correctly, you just need to follow the recommendations of the guide.
Knowledge consolidation
All routers, including TP LINK 741, have one unpleasant feature. We are talking about the lack of saving settings after a successful inclusion (as it is implemented in the Windows operating system in the form of recovery points). That is, by making the wrong settings in the control panel, you can easily disable the entire router. In such situations, the only solution for the owner is to reset the network equipment to the factory settings.
In fact, this problem is known and easily solved. After setting the basic parameters (Internet and Wi-Fi), the user needs to make a backup copy of the configuration. To do this, go to the "Administration" tab, specify the path to save the file and start the backup. Experts recommend doing this procedure after each successful setup. In case of failure, you can always restore the desired configuration.
Difficult setup
The TP LINK 741 router user manual describes almost all basic settings. This is not only about wireless interfaces, but also about the security system, port forwarding and work in the demilitarized zone. However, only one setting, judging by the reviews of the owners, is able to spoil the mood not only of an ordinary user, but also of an expert who is versed in network equipment.
It's about functionality for watching high-quality video - IPTV. Sly Chinese by default reserved one of the four ports for the corresponding equipment, they just forgot to tell the owner on which interface this setting is registered. There are not many options here - you need to find the "correct" port using the selection method (4 options). True, this problem is relevant only for devices with old firmware. When updating software from the manufacturerās official website, the problem should not be relevant.
Feedback
The first negative about the TP LINK TL 741 router, which users leave in their reviews, concerns the stability of the network equipment. Then it becomes clear to the owners why the manufacturer has equipped his product with a hardware button to turn off the device - the router sometimes freezes and needs to be rebooted.
There are questions to the quality of data transmission over long distances. The deviceās Wi-Fi coverage is large - the router is visible even at a distance of more than 10 meters in the room (1-2 concrete walls). However, when connected, the transmission speed is negligible and does not allow users to comfortably use the Internet services. There are more questions to the antenna amplifier - it simply does not work. By the way, you can still solve the problem - you need to set the USA location in the regionās settings (Administration menu).
Finally
This is not to say that the TP LINK 741 router is the best buy. In the budget class (up to 2000 rubles) there are many other interesting solutions that can freely compete with this network equipment. However, TP Link products have one interesting feature - along with low stability (we are talking only about budget devices), the router is quite tenacious. As shown by many years of practice, the products of this company are able to be used for decades without significant damage.